Want to see the Rangers’ financials? Deadspin can make that happen.
There’s this ESPN radio guy, Colin Cowherd (a name that is either made up or patently British, in which case, we can ignore everything he says because the British know jack about baseball), who claims Cliff Lee said he hates Texas, and phoned it in against the Orioles because he’s only showcasing his talent when the Rangers play elite teams, so he can get the heck out of here and just go play for a real team like the Yankees next season. He also said Lee hates the heat. Like there’s a pitcher out there somewhere that actually likes playing in 150 degree temperatures.
Well, Lee had some choice words for the possible limey, saying Cowherd is a lying liar who lies, and that if he has a source, he needs to produce it, because, well, he never said such a thing.
It does sound a little cockamamie. I mean, would it really be in Lee’s best interest – if he is interested in getting the heck out of here at the end of the season – to lose to lackluster teams?
On Good Morning America tomorrow, you’ll be able to see Vincent Hunter discuss how he captured footage of two thugs breaking into his Royal Park Estates home using iCam. (Hunter then posted the footage on YouTube.) Preston Hollow People’s Claire St. Amant got Hunter’s wife, Janet, on the horn today for a preview.
Elder statesman Jim Schutze breaks down the history behind Dallas property taxes, which led to the walkout by the six city council members yesterday. Interesting stuff.
It’s Tuesday, and those of us who are old and/or boring enough to care about such things have cause to celebrate, for a cold front is on its way to North Texas. That said, we in Dallas have another reason to rejoice:
Remember awhile back when Craig Watkins dropped a “money bomb” with “justice explosives“? It seemed like he was doing a sort of fundraising satire that I couldn’t grasp. Well, now Jonathan Neerman and the Dallas County Republicans have dropped their own “moneybomb,” which has been designed to tell Nancy Pelosi that “we have had enough.” This latest effort got me wondering whether the Republicans had plundered Watkins’ special cache of munitions, because I’d never heard of a moneybomb before, either written as one word or two. According to this Wikipedia entry, the term was first applied to a 2007 fundraising effort of Ron Paul’s. And now you know (if you didn’t already).
Here at D Magazine, we’re thinking about launching a similar effort targeted to our advertisers. We know cash is tight, though. So we’re going to fire a trade scud. (Still needs workshopping?)
Yesterday, six Dallas city council members walked out of a meeting when they felt that Mayor Tom Leppert might be bucking for an early vote to set the tax rate. Some of them were definitely wanting the rate raised. Some were undecided and wanted an opportunity to study the issue more.
Mayor Tom says he has no idea where they got that idea.
I’ve recently taken on a second job. Besides being the managing editor of D’s three weekly newspapers, I also read résumés for a living. Since I posted an ad for a copy editor on journalismjobs.com last week, I’ve been inundated with them. Once the résumé count started approaching triple digits, I took down the ad in self-defense.
When the pool of applicants is this large, it doesn’t take much to get sorted into the “no” pile. But I like to jot down my reasons, just in case I get a follow-up call or e-mail from one of these people. Here are a few notes I wrote to myself during the sorting process:
1. Want to foil a burglary from 1,400 miles away? There’s an app for that. (Too easy? Yeah, you’re probably right.)
2. The price for Allen’s new football stadium is $59.6 million. It’s for a high school team. When national media gets this, we’ll get the “everything’s bigger in Texas” headlines and WE WILL DESERVE THEM.
3. How does this keep happening? Guh.
Office Depot. Every school kiddo and his/her mother were there. It looked like a grocery store on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Sales associate said it had been so quiet until 4 and then boom!
The good folks at DISD are trying to make sure the kids get healthier fare in the district’s cafeterias this year. They’re offering more fruit and vegetable options, and some items will no longer be available to younger kids. (So long, nachos.) But what I love most about this story is the accompanying picture. Check out Juan Jaramillo eating a slice of pizza. He’s a funny kid—he says he has tried having salad for lunch. “Once.”
Did you know that the stop sign that comes out of a school bus when it stops to let children off is indeed not called “a stop sign flipping out thingie,” but a “stop arm?” Personally, I think the former is catchier.
That being said, Dallas school buses – some of them now, a lot more later – are now equipped with cameras to record cars who do not stop when that stop arm is displayed. Right now, you get a letter. Later, possibly a fine.
So, you know, if you see a school bus (they’re yellow and have children on them), you might want to make sure that it’s not asking you to stop. Because the alternative is a sternly worded letter from the district, or actually hitting a child with your vehicle, which – speaking from experience – stings.
Happy Monday, Web log readers. I hope that you got tons of shopping done this weekend. Today, you’re going for a boat ride.
For the first time in 15 years, ye lovers of fun can rent kayaks and canoes at White Rock Lake. For $15 (or less if you buy a package deal), patrons of White Rock Paddle Co. can reserve a boat for an hour. Feeling more adventurous? Rent one for three hours, or even all day. I’m told that if you can beg off work a little early and get there around 5 p.m. before the evening rush, you’ll largely have the place to yourself. However, if you’re feeling particularly romantic, wait until an hour before sundown and watch the sunset in all its glory. And if you’re worried about the heat, don’t be: one of the women who run the stand swears the lake has a noticeable cooling effect.
Why tonight? A) The service has been up and running for less than two weeks, so you’ll be among the first to do it. B) It’s a healthy start to your week, and a healthy reader is a happy reader. C) Because I said so.
You’ll no doubt have worked up an appetite with all that rowing, so order carry-out from Big Shucks on your way home, and enjoy some fried fish and hush puppies—I cannot stress enough the importance of the latter.
Not inclined to leave dry ground? We’ve got the details on Heart’s concert and other great things to do in Dallas.
That’s what Wick suggests here. And it’s not really a new theory since that’s what’s been going on already.
Linda Harper-Brown sits on the Texas House’s powerful transportation committee. She really, really liked the 2010 Mercedes E550 her husband, Bill, gave her to drive. He did not actually own the Mercedes he gave her, though. It was loaned to him, along with a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe, by Durable Enterprises Equipment Ltd., a client of his accounting business. Coincidentally, Durable has received $12.3 million in state transportation contracts since 2007.
A bribe? Certainly not. The state representative may have failed to disclose that she was using a car provided by a state contractor (she, in fact, had her special State Official license plates put on both cars, even though she does not own them). However, her husband is incensed that anyone would find anything improper. He told the Dallas Morning News in June that his wife does not have to disclose the car because she does not own a part of his accounting business.
See? No bribe at all. Husbands and wives have nothing to do with one another.